A new mum has slammed Harrow Council as "heartless and unsympathetic" after she was given a parking fine, despite stopping her car to tend to her baby in an "emergency situation", she claims.
Rebecca Moore, a Hillingdon borough police officer on maternity leave, was ordered to pay a £110 Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) after stopping in a bus stop in London Road, Stanmore.
But the 31-year-old, who lives in Aylesbury, is disgusted with the way Harrow Council have dealt with the matter after she explained she had to pull over as her baby boy was choking.
At two weeks old, Rebecca's son, Riley, was diagnosed with a severe case of Gastroesophagul Reflux Disorder (GORD) and Silent Reflux and was put on medication.
Mrs Moore said: "As a result of these conditions, my son chokes and splutters a lot when feeding.
"He vomits in excess of 30 times a day and often chokes and splutters on vomit and stomach acid.
"On two occasions, he has turned blue and I've had to administer first aid."
Due to his condition, baby Riley does not travel well in a car seat, but after four months, Rebecca's husband, Tim, decided to take their son see his Grandmother in Kenton, Harrow, for the first time.
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Luckily, the baby slept through the hour-long journey there, but on the way back, Rebecca, who was driving, had to pull over three times to tend to her son.
She said: "Nine times out of 10 he can correct it himself by coughing hard, but it is exceptionally scary for both me and the baby and I'm not prepared to take any risks with his life so I always pull the car over in case I need to intervene and administer first aid to stop him choking.
"On this particular occasion, I could see in the mirror he was going a deep shade of red in the face, his eyes were bulging and watering and he was trying to cough but was struggling. I panicked and pulled over straight away.
"There was a bus stop next to us so I pulled over on it and got out of my car immediately to tend to my baby."
Rebecca was then fined £110 for parking in the bus stop, and appealed the notice, explaining that her son had a medical condition and she considered it to be an emergency - Harrow Council rejected it.
The mum said: "The letter they sent me was very heartless and worded very poorly.
"Harrow Council have been extremely unsympathetic throughout the whole process and have caused me so much stress - as a breastfeeding mother of an unwell baby it is added stress I could do without.
"The thing that angers me the most is the disregard they've shown for his life. It's a possibility he might have died."
Harrow Council stipulates that stopping on a restricted bus stop is an instant contravention and there are no exemptions.
'The rules are clear' say the council
A spokesperson for the council said: "The law about stopping in bus stops is exactly the same everywhere in London. You can’t do it.
"The warning signs are clearly put up and the rules are clear – vehicles other than authorised buses who stop at bus stops risk getting a fine."
After Harrow Council rejected Rebecca's appeal - stating that CCTV footage showed no indication of an emergency situation and the motorist did not provide any independent medical proof in support of her claim - the case went to a tribunal, were it was also refused.
Rebecca has now paid the fine but hopes her ordeal will raise awareness about her baby's medical condition - so that the council has more "empathy" in future.
She added: "I don't think there's a lot of knowledge about it out there, we had to fight for the diagnosis.
"There's a lack of understanding. When your baby's choking, you're not thinking where do I park, you're thinking 'I'm going to help'."
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